Before a dialogue editor can begin crafting the conversations of an episode or reel in a feature film, they require all channels or mics that were recorded on location, presented in their DAW timeline as per the picture editors audio edit.
Sometimes the picture editor may carry all channels recorded in their timeline and export everything required in an AAF ready for editing. But more than likely they created their edit with one or more mix channels and the AAF they provide doesn't contain all the audio required. There are many other reasons why an AAF provided by a picture editor may not work or doesn't contain the media or data required. When this occurs an 'assembly' is required. This process links the edit information from the picture edit to the original location WAV files to build a timeline containing all channels that were recorded on location.
The EdiLoad v5 assembly window is designed to do this very task.
It contains settings to customise which channels are exported, by name or whether they contain any audio, and provides a way to fix sub-frame sync errors when picture edit systems have started WAV files on a frame edge that do not start on a frame edge.
The assembly window can export a Pro Tools session file linked to mono or poly WAVs and an AAF file linked to mono WAVs. So now dialogue editors working on any DAW can take advantage of this new workflow and Pro Tools users no longer need a Pro Tools ultimate license for this process as EdiLoad no longer requires the field recorder workflow functions.
Here's a video that runs through the process of creating an assembly for Pro Tools and Nuendo. It also shows how to create a sync sound assembly for every shot in a picture edit list.
- 00:00 - Introduction
- 00:46 - Why Assemble WAV Files?
- 01:45 - Overview of Assembly Process
- 05:06 - Assembly Window Requirements
- 06:32 - Preparing Edit Lists For Assembly
- 09:13 - Assembly Window Settings
- 17:24 - Create A Sync Sound Assembly
- 20:42 - What To Do When Events Don't Match
- 22:08 - Export PTX and AAF Files Settings
For more information on EdiLoad, see the EdiLoad product page.
To try EdiLoad for yourself, download the installer from the download page. Once installed, run it and click 'Try' to activate a three-day trial license.